Weiss's Descent
by OdicHastings
Summary: Chosen as a sacrifice for her people, Weiss must descend into a monster filled labyrinth. All alone and with limited supplies, her odds couldn't seem more slim. AU fic. Contains White Knight, eventually.
1. Chapter 1

Weiss stood at the mouth of the cavern, and glanced up at the sky.

It was probably the last time she'd ever see it.

"Your sacrifice today will not be forgotten!" bellowed a man behind her. "You sacrifice, for your family, for your people, will be remembered for the coming decades!

"Today, you join the ranks of those noble heroes who sacrificed themselves for the greater good!"

Weiss rolled her eyes. No one saw it, her back was turned to the mob behind her.

They talked of 'her' sacrifice like she had made any choice at all.

The city's bishop continued to shout and play to the crowd. Despite the strength of his voice, Weiss found herself tuning it out.

Slowly, she rolled a black marble back and forth in her hand.

To the north of the city Weiss called home, along a snow capped mountain, lied the entrance to the underground labyrinth. Nobody who ever went in came back out.

But every year, a sacrifice was needed. Somebody had to enter.

Somebody had to die.

It was decided the most fair way to do this was with a lottery. Every man and woman in her town drew a marble from a box.

If you drew white. You lived.

If you drew black...

"The time has come..." the bishop said. "For this, brave, brave young woman to say her final goodbye's to her family. One sister, and one father."

Weiss took a deep breath, put on a brave face, and turned around.

Her older sister hugged her immediately. She leaned close to Weiss's ear, and whispered, "Don't give up."

Weiss nearly laughed at that remark.

Instead she just nodded.

Her father approached next, holding a leather cloth wrapped around numerous flowers. Wordlessly, he handed the rather large bundle to Weiss.

The bishop approached immediately. "Mr. Schnee... sir? You don't mean for her to take those-"

"They're just flowers," her father said quietly. "She always loved this kind. Surely she should carry some comfort with her, yes?"

The bishop seemed hesitant, before slowly nodding. "Yes, I suppose... that's... fine."

Weiss eyed the bundle oddly.

"Do the Schnee name proud." Weiss studied her father's face. It lacked any sign of emotion.

Stiffly, Weiss turned back toward the entrance to the labyrinth.

It didn't look much different than any old cave.

Two heavily armored guards stood in front of it.

The bishop approached her side, and handed Weiss a single lit candle. Its wick was painfully short. She wouldn't have more than half an hour's worth of light.

Weiss wordlessly accepted it, and walked forward.

The guards parted as she passed.

"Go forth, brave Weiss! And know that your humble sacrifice is for the betterment and protection of your people!"

Slowly, the mouth of the cave drew closer. Her eyes strained against the wall of blackness ahead of her.

She saw nothing beyond it.

The bishop continued his prattle as she went, his boisterous voice growing fainter and fainter with every step she took.

As she entered the cavern, Weiss instinctively held the candle out in front of her. The sunlight streaming in behind her slowly faded.

After a few moments, when Weiss was certain she was out of sight, she stopped.

She looked down at the bundled flowers in her hands.

 _This is my father's final gift to me?_

 _Flowers._

Anger flooded Weiss's body as she threw the bundle against the cavern's stone wall.

The metallic ring it made gave Weiss pause.

She approached the bundle slowly.

Peeking out from under the leather wrappings was a glint of silver.

 _Is that...?_

Weiss crouched down, and pulled the leather away.

 _Myrtenaster!_

Her custom made rapier. Weiss tore the blade free from its floral concealment.

Her father had given her a weapon.

 _He could have really gotten into trouble for this..._

The sacrifice wasn't allowed to bring anything that could prolong their own survival. Whether that be food or water, or a weapon.

Weiss dug through the bundle, tossing flowers aside as she went. There was more hidden inside.

A torch, which she immediately transferred her candle's flame to.

Some basic rations, which wouldn't last more than a few days.

And a canteen of water, which probably wouldn't even last one.

Weiss didn't know what would happen next. She couldn't go back the way she came, but she didn't know what was ahead of her.

No one left the labyrinth alive. And she couldn't have been the first person to ever smuggle a weapon in.

Her sister's words echoed in her mind.

'Don't give up.'

False hope? A distinct possibility.

But, if there was even a chance...

Sword held firm in her left hand, torch held high in the right, Weiss strode boldly forward.

Her eyes held a steely gaze, as her heels clicked against the hard stone floor.

Weiss kept her chin up, an air of superiority hovering about her.

Her confidence vanished the moment she came upon a door.

It was ancient. The door was built from thick, carved stone. A large metal ring was affixed to the front of it.

Taking in a shaky breath, Weiss crept forward.

She put the torch down, and reached out.

Her fingers weakly grabbed at the cold metal.

 _This is it. Point of no return._

Weiss briefly glanced back toward the entrance of the cave.

 _As if I really had the option of going back._

She pulled.

Her body strained to drag the stone door open, inch by inch. The sound of stone grinding across stone filled the cavern.

She kept her sword at the ready, waiting for something to leap out at her.

But, nothing ever did.

The door completely open, Weiss quietly picked up her torch and passed through.

She was no longer inside a cavern. She stood within a stone passage.

The hall was no less dark than the cavern she had just exited.

Deep within the passage, Weiss faintly heard something clicking.

She crept forward.

It sounded metallic, like a piece of moving machinery.

She squinted against the darkness.

Halfway down the hall, a length of chain stretching from a hole in the ceiling, to a hole in the floor was moving by.

Some unseen mechanism pulled the chain into the ceiling, link by link.

Beyond the chain, stood a massive stone gate. Far too big for Weiss to possibly open by hand.

And then, the clicking stopped. The chain ceased its movement.

And then reversed its course. Rapidly.

Some unseen force dragged the chain into the floor in a blur of motion.

Weiss's eyes widened, as something slammed behind her.

She ran back to the door, and found that it had shut. There was no ring or handle on her side.

Weiss rammed her shoulder against the door, pressing with all her might. She couldn't get it to budge an inch.

Huffing in frustration, Weiss returned to the massive gate.

It stood wide open.

"Some kind of trap?" Weiss approached the gate.

She really couldn't go back now.

Weiss had to move forward, deeper into the labyrinth.

Off in the distance, deep within the dark halls, she heard noises.

Skittering.

Crawling.

Growling.

Weiss took a deep breath. "Don't give up." She took a shaky step forward. "Don't give up... don't give up..."


	2. Chapter 2

**This took me way too long to get out for how short it is. A little over a week later? I need to get on it better.**

 **...**

The darkness pressed into Weiss's mind.

At first, it hadn't bothered her too much. Walking step by step, barely able to see more than a few feet in front of her.

But slowly, it got worse.

Anxiety crept in. It pressed against her skull. Never stopping. Never ending.

She heard noises constantly. The silence of the labyrinth's many halls served her well. She could always hear when something was just up ahead, or just around a corner.

Avoiding whatever horrors lurked those ancient halls was easy.

However, Weiss couldn't shake the sense she wasn't making progress.

Every twist and turn of the labyrinth looked the same.

 _What can I do?_

Weiss stopped at yet another fork in the path. She could continue to the right, or to the left.

Weiss glanced down at her sword, and smirked.

She approached the stone wall directly in front of her, and carved a small arrow into it. The arrow pointed toward the right.

Weiss continued onward, going tit for tat at each fork. If she went left before, she would go right at the next fork.

Several minutes passed before she came across a fork with an arrow carved into it.

 _So I really am going in circles..._

Weiss carved an arrow pointed toward the left, and continued down the new path.

Every time Weiss came across a path with no arrows carved into it, she felt her anxiety drift away, bit by bit.

She was making progress. She could make it out of this.

Something growled behind her. Right behind her.

Weiss spun around, making a blind stab with her blade.

Myrtenaster cut across a shadowy figure's body. It flinched back a few steps.

Weiss quickly retreated, and studied the creature in front of her.

Its entire body was black, save for a white, bone-like mask adorning its face, and similarly colored claws. Its eyes held a red glow, as it sized her up with a predatory gaze.

 _Remember your training._

Weiss took a deep breath, and tightened her grip on Myrtenaster.

 _Remember your training..._

Weiss held her weapon uncertainly.

 _I can't remember anything!_

It lunged forward. Weiss reflexively stabbed forward.

Her blade sunk into its eye. One of its claws raked her shoulder. The thing's body slammed into Weiss's, knocking her to the floor.

She crawled away from the creature. "I-Is that it? I killed it?"

As she stood up, Weiss became aware of a sharp pain in her shoulder. She looked over, and saw a deep wound.

A growing red stain spread across her dress. She pressed her hand against the wound. She didn't have anything to staunch the blood with.

Weiss picked up the pace, quickly marching down corridor after corridor, and scratching arrows into the walls when she needed to.

The bleeding wasn't that bad, but it did have one unfortunate side effect; she could hear more creatures behind her.

They weren't close behind her, but she could tell something was following her trail. Maybe they smelled the blood in the air. Maybe they could see well enough in the dark to follow the droplets being left in her wake, but either way, Weiss couldn't afford to slow down for a second.

A dark though entered Weiss's mind.

 _What if there is no way out?_

She was moving forward on the assumption that she would find a door, or a staircase, or... something. Whatever she found, she hoped it would allow her to escape.

But, could she really have been the only sacrifice to ever smuggle a weapon inside the labyrinth? Surely, there had been foolhardy adventurers who snuck into the labyrinth, armed to the teeth and well supplied.

But no one had ever left the labyrinth.

Maybe there was no stairwell leading up and out of that place.

Maybe there was no safe haven just up ahead she could catch her breath in.

Maybe there just wasn't any way out. Period.

In that moment, the walls seemed to close in a little tighter around her, and the growl of unseen creatures felt closer.

Weiss mumbled to herself as she looked down at her own shaking feet. "Don't give up. I can do this... I can-"

She glanced ahead, and saw a pair of glowing purple eyes dead ahead.

"No..." Weiss looked behind her. She didn't see anything in the darkness, but at least a few of those things were approaching.

She looked forward again. Whatever was ahead had closed the distance between them.

Her breathing quickened, as she pointed her sword forward. "S-stay back!"

It stood just beyond the reach of her torch's light.

 _I'm hyperventilating._

Weiss's training trickled back in. She was breathing too fast and too hard. She forced herself to slow down. Her hands trembled. She willfully steadied them. One foot forward.

 _Wait... which foot do I-_

It lunged forward.

All Weiss saw was a yellow blur knock her into the floor and rip her weapon from her grip. Myrtanster vanished into the darkness as it was cast away from her.

Eyes wide, Weiss stared up at the figure above her.

It was a woman. A very human looking woman.

Weiss's eyes drifted to a set of curved horns protruding from her head.

It was a mostly human looking woman.

The woman's Lilac eyes scanned her curiously.

A deep growl filled the hall.

Multiple sets of red eyes watching them from the shadows.

"Hang on for a bit," the woman said. "I'll be right back."

The woman confidently, perhaps even arrogantly approaching the unseen creatures. She cracked her knuckles as she walked.

Weiss hesitated for only the briefest of moments before lunging for her torch and bolting. She slowed only long enough to grab her discarded blade before running into a full sprint.

The hall was long.

The labyrinth had been nothing but twists and turns, but the current section she was within just seemed to go on and on.

The labyrinth's endless darkness gave way to a wooden door. Weiss skidded to a halt, nearly running face-first into the door in the process.

"Does this lead out...?" Weiss smiled for the first time since she 'won' the lottery.

She all but threw herself against the door, pressing against it before noticing a metal ring acting as a handle.

"Please don't be another door trap..."

She pulled the door open, a little too forcefully. She accidentally slammed it against the wall. Ignoring the noise, she forced her legs to carry her onward.

She tripped immediately after stepping over a ledge. A set of stairs leading down were built just beyond the doorway.

Weiss tumbled down several steps before coming to a stop, thankfully unhurt.

She managed to keep a grip on her weapon, but her accidentally thrown torch tumbled downward, leaving embers in its wake.

Shadows crept in all around her. Weiss stood up, and carefully walked down the steps to retrieve her torch.

"Oh, good. The flame didn't go out." Weiss recovered her torch, and prepared to descend to the next floor.

"Actually, the next floor is much better lit. You probably won't need it."

Weiss whipped around, stabbing blindly with Myrtenaster as she spun.

A firm hand grasped her wrist. Weiss dropped the blade immediately.

Weiss stared at the woman from before. She stared back, an amused grin on her face.

Weiss waited, frozen. Her eyes darted to the woman's curved horns, then to her admittedly gorgeous blond hair.

"So... should I start the conversation? Or, do you wanna take a _stab_ at it?"

Weiss blinked. "I-"

The woman's words sunk in.

 _'Stab' at it?_

Weiss's eyes briefly lowered to her fallen weapon.

 _Did she just-_

"I'm Yang. Nice to meet ya." Yang offered her hand, while gave a friendly smile.

Weiss slowly, and numbly, took her hand.

A silence hung between them. Yang eventually released Weiss's hand.

"Not much of a talker, huh?"

Finally, Weiss's brain started to work. "What are you?"

Yang's grin diminished slightly at that.

She glanced to the left. Weiss's eyes followed.

She glanced to the right. Again, Weiss's eyes followed.

Yang leaned in closer. "Would you believe me if I said..." Her voice dropped lower. "I was a demon?"

Weiss's eye twitched. She took a deep breath, and glanced down at her weapon.

Weiss dropped to floor, snatched her weapon, and elbowed Yang in the face as she rose back up.

Yang didn't so much as flinch.

"Okay," Yang said flatly. "I admit that was a bad joke. I apolo-"

Weiss retreated back, and pointed her blade forward.

Yang put her hands in front of her. "Hey, I'm sorry! I'm apologizing!"

"Just stay away from me." Weiss backed down the steps.

"Its not any safer down there." Yang took a step forward. "I can help you out."

Weiss made a weak stab toward Yang to keep her at bay.

"I'm being serious," Yang said, any humor in her features now gone. "If you run off you might not-"

Weiss made a more serious lunge. Yang pressed against the wall to avoid being cut.

Weiss took the opportunity to run down the staircase.

Another wooden door sat closed at the bottom. She flung it open, and found herself within yet another labyrinth.

 **...**

 **Hopefully, I should be able to get into slightly more interesting territory than a drab stone dungeon next chapter.**


End file.
